


TARDIS Moving, Inc.

by 6s_and_7s



Category: Doctor Who
Genre: Bill's friends - Freeform, DWFicExchange, Gen, Harry is Harry Sullivan's Grandson, Mentions of Looming, Post-Episode: s10e4 Knock Knock, Potential paradoxes, Twelve is a granddad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-21
Updated: 2019-07-21
Packaged: 2020-07-10 02:50:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,462
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19898641
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/6s_and_7s/pseuds/6s_and_7s
Summary: After the Landlord and the Woodlice have been defeated, there's a certain amount of cleaning up to do.





	TARDIS Moving, Inc.

**Author's Note:**

  * For [tinglingworld](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tinglingworld/gifts).



Everyone stood in shocked silence as the old house collapsed in on itself. It was like watching a sandcastle in a wind tunnel, and when it was all over, it was several moments before anyone could speak.

It was the Doctor who broke the silence first, of course. “Right! Ah… one,” he began, tapping Bill on the shoulder. “Two, three, four, five, six… There were only six of you, weren’t there?”

“Uh,” said Paul. “Yes?”

The Doctor clapped his hands together and spun to face away from the house. “Lovely! One-hundred percent survival rate for innocent bystanders, love it when that happens.”

“All our stuff,” Shireen said quietly. “It’s just… gone, now.”

“Ah, but you still have your health, don’t you? And your physical forms, autonomy… I’d say we came out smelling like roses on this one, hey?”

“Doctor,” Bill said. “Er, ‘granddad’. Can I have a word?”

He looked at her sidelong for a moment, his smile slipping. “Of course. Always.”

She motioned him over away from her friends. “Right,” she said softly. “So, we’re uni students, right? You get that, like, we can’t just buy new beds and things.”

He hesitated, then nodded. “I suppose.”

“And some of the stuff in there was irreplaceable, right?”

The Doctor furrowed his brow. “By which you mean…”

“Pavel’s records? Um, Shireen had this necklace her nan gave her. And, um, the photos you took of my mum…”

He grabbed her by the shoulder, his eyes wide. “Your photos were in there?”

She met his gaze evenly. “Yeah, and a bunch of other stuff too. Some of that was as important to this lot as those pictures were to me. So…” She took a deep breath. “Like, I know this is a bit of a big ask and all, but is there… is there anything you can do? Anything at all?”

Slowly, he let go of her shoulder and stood upright, staring up at the glittering stars above. “...Yes,” he said, after a long silence. “It’ll be risky.”

She grinned. “When  _ isn’t _ it?”

That got a small smile out of him again. “Right. Round up your friends. We’re going to the TARDIS.”

***

Shireen frowned. “What’s that supposed to be, then?”

“It’s a police box, isn’t it?” Harry asked. “My grandpa was always obsessed with them -- he told me these mad stories about--”

“Traveling in space and time?” the Doctor interrupted. “Fighting aliens, saving planets, that sort of thing? Perhaps there’s a certain character you remember cropping up every now and again, pulling off some mad plan to save the day?”

Harry paused, uncertain. “...Sarah-Jane?”

The Doctor grinned. “Alright, the other one, then.”

Harry’s eyebrows shot up. “No.”

“Oh, yes. C’mon, everyone pile in.”

Bill hurried in out of the cold, Harry close behind. The others seemed a tad reluctant. The Doctor glanced back, questioning. “It’s… it’s made of wood,” Paul said.

“And it’s too small for all of us to fit, isn’t it?” Felicity asked.

The Doctor rolled his eyes. “Just trust me, alright? Saved your lives once today already.”

One by one, the others trickled in, their eyes going wide as they passed through the doors.

“Now, obviously, this is a one-time favor,” the Doctor said briskly. “And I wouldn’t go chatting about it with your friends, either.”

“Why, are the Men in Black gonna sweep in?” Pavel asked.

“Near enough,” the Doctor said. “So if you prefer your memories intact, mum’s the word.” He pulled down on a lever, and the room shook. “So! First things first, we’re traveling back through time to when the house was still standing so we can get your things out before the house collapses.”

“How--” Shireen began.

“No, no questions now. We can’t get everything out, but if you make a list of your most valuable possessions -- small things, stuff that you can’t replace -- then we can get that.”

“...We?” Pavel asked, hesitant. “We’ve got to go back in there, then?”

“Not you,” the Doctor said. “I will. Bill, I presume I can’t stop you from tagging along.”

She raised her brows at him. “Not exactly a one-person job.”

“The rest of you, we’ll need detailed notes on your movements throughout the night. Running into you would make things… complicated. Possibly also quite explodey. After that, the TARDIS will show you where you can bed down for the night, and… yes, Harry?”

The young man had raised his hand, and was shaking only slightly. “I’d like to help too, Doctor. If you’re really the man my grandpa told me about--”

“Less of the ‘man,’ if you please,” the Doctor said shortly. He tilted back his head and stared at the ceiling. “Harry Sullivan,” he said at length. “You take after him. He was something of an imbecile, too.”

Bill started. “Doctor!”

Harry chuckled. “Yes, you really must be his Doctor, then.”

The Doctor gave a faint smile. “You’re sure you want to come, then? No shame in it if you don’t.”

Harry nodded. “I’d really like to help.”

“Hmph. Fine. Just be quick, and do exactly as I say. Understood?”

“Yes, Doctor.”

“Fine. The rest of you, get busy with those schedules and manifests. When I pull this lever down, we’re on the clock again.” He fixed each of them with a stern look. “Well? What are you waiting for? Go!”

“We’re gonna need paper,” Paul said.

“And pens?” Felicity added.

“A table’d be nice,” Shireen said.

“Humans, you’re always such fusspots. Why can’t you just learn telepathy? You’ve had centuries. Fine, pens and paper, let’s go.”

***

Some time later, the Doctor had managed to herd the four housemates that weren’t coming on the recovery mission into a set of guest rooms, artfully evading their questions with carefully cultivated irritation, coolness, and non-answers.

“Yes, it travels in time. No, you can’t retake your exams with it. Because of Belgium. No, I don’t understand either, I’ve just been flying this ship for a few millennia, so I think I rather know the ropes. No, Back to the Future was almost completely wrong about everything. Who puts a time machine in a car, anyway? No legroom, that. Now go to bed before I  _ make _ you go to bed.”

Bill watched it all unfold with mild amusement. Harry was rather busy staring at the walls, as though memorizing them. “What, never seen a time machine before?” she joked.

“It’s much different from how Grandpa Harry described it.”

“Well, she’s had a few facelifts since the good old days,” the Doctor said, walking over to stand by them both. “So have I, come to that.”

“Oh?” Harry cocked his head.

“Lists. You’ve got them all ready, then?” the Doctor asked, turning to Bill.

“Yeah, all set. But, Doctor, I think there might be a bit of a hole in your plan, yeah?”

He frowned. “How so?”

“Well, if we’re going to travel back to when the house was still standing, the lice are all gonna still be scuttling around, right? So how do we  _ not _ get eaten?”

“Ah.” The Doctor produced two metal wands from his pocket. “Sonic screwdrivers. Earlier versions of the sunglasses. They don’t really work on wood, but based on how they reacted to your mate Pavel’s record and the landlord’s tuning fork, I’ve set them both to a frequency the lice should find very unpleasant indeed. A few blasts every now and again should keep them away and searching for easier prey.”

“The others, you mean?” Harry said. “That’s not really ideal, is it?”

“They’ve been taken already, and they’re fine,” the Doctor retorted. “We, on the other hand, have escaped the lion’s den once already, and are walking right back in, contravening about half a dozen laws of time in the process. These screwdrivers are a necessary precaution against seriously upsetting the web of time, as are those schedules. We only have a little bit of wiggle room in this situation. Don’t take any risks.”

“Yes, sir,” Harry said, cowed.

“Alright,” said Bill, taking one of the wands. “Haven’t you got a bunch of these at your desk?”

“I’ve made a  _ lot _ of screwdrivers.” The Doctor yanked down on a lever, and the TARDIS groaned into existence. “Now come on. We’re on the clock.”

Harry pushed open the doors, and the three filed out into a hall. “Where are we?” Harry muttered.

“Third floor, along the north side,” the Doctor said.

“And  _ when _ are we?” Bill asked.

The Doctor nodded approvingly. “Quarter ‘til nine. Everyone’s room is clear but Pavel’s and Felicity’s.”

“It’ll be quicker if we split up,” Harry said.

The Doctor made a face. “D’you have to sound like the bloke that dies first in a horror film?”

“He’s not wrong,” Bill said. “Most of the stuff we can grab in one trip.”

The Doctor growled and glared at the ceiling. “Fine. If the lice start chasing you and the sonic isn’t keeping them back, turn it to the highest setting and throw it at them.”

“What’ll that do?” Harry asked.

The Doctor opened his mouth, shut it again, and finally said, “Plug your ears if you do it. Meantime, I’ll take Paul’s room.”

Bill frowned and checked her timetable. “Hasn’t Paul gotten captured already?”

“Bill, you take Shireen’s room, Harry, you get your own room.”

“Right.” Harry turned and trotted off down the hallway. Bill and the Doctor went the other way.

“Thought we were splitting up.”

“Shireen’s room is just down the hall from Paul’s.”

“Ah.”

They walked in silence for awhile. “So,” Bill said at length. “Upsetting the web of time, huh?”

“Exciting, isn’t it? I’ve kept my nose pretty clean about it lately, haven’t done it for nearly a century.”

“Sorry.”

He looked at her, surprised. “Sorry? Sorry for what?”

“Pushing you into this. Opening up your TARDIS to my mates. Maybe breaking time. All that stuff.”

The Doctor shrugged. “I’ve done far riskier things for far pettier reasons.”

Bill chuckled. “I bet. Like what?”

He hesitated. “Well, one time I put on a fish suit and had to pretend to be an alien menace that my earlier self was meant to fight…”

Bill laughed louder this time. “God, you’d better have pictures.”

“Nope. I collected them all up and burned them.”

“Should’ve known.”

They walked in silence for awhile longer, but it was lighter now, less oppressive. It stayed that way until they came to Paul’s room.

“So,” said Bill, staring at the door. “What do you think you’re going to find?”

“The items that are on his list,” the Doctor said, not moving. “Shouldn’t you be going on to Shireen’s?”

“Whatever it is can’t be worse than Pavel.”

“And do you actually want to see Pavel stuck in the wall again?”

“No, ‘course not. But I could. I don’t need you to protect me.”

“No, you don’t. But that’s what you’ve got. Go and get your friend’s stuff. Let me take this room.”

There was something in his tone that made her stop. “Alright,” she said. “Fine.” She continued down the hall. “But you didn’t have to do this!”

“What kind of grandfather would I be if I didn’t?” he called back.

It wasn’t until Bill was in Shireen’s room, looking for her mother’s necklace, that the meaning behind that reply caught up with her. By the time she got back to Paul’s room, the Doctor had already gone.

***

He wasn’t back at the TARDIS, either, although the boxes that had been stacked just inside the doors suggested that both he and Harry had made it back safely. Bill set down everything she’d recovered from Shireen’s room with a sigh, and set off towards the room she had claimed in the house.

As she had expected, the Doctor was there, busily collecting Bill’s photographs. She leaned against the doorway for a moment, contemplating. “Hey.”

The Doctor paused for a moment. “All under control here,” he said. “Go and get Felicity’s things, and we can take off.”

“You called yourself my grandfather.”

He stopped stacking her books into a cardboard box. “Well, you seemed rather insistent on that point. I thought I might as well play along.”

“So it was just a joke, then? You’re not gonna tell me that there was some weird time thing, and I’m your actual granddaughter?”

“Believe me, if I were actually your grandfather, you would know.”

“Right, yeah.” She took a beat. “D’you think of yourself as my granddad, then?”

“Bill, can we talk about this in the TARDIS?”

“...Yeah, alright. Felicity’s room, you said? You sent Harry on to Pavel’s, then?”

“I assumed you wouldn’t want to go back there again.”

“You assumed right, yeah. Alright, meet you back at the TARDIS.”

She turned and was just about to leave, when the Doctor said, “I’d be honored.”

She looked back. “Sorry?”

He locked eyes with her. “I’d be honored if you were my granddaughter, Bill. That’s your answer.”

Bill wasn’t quite sure how to respond to that. “Oh. Um, same, I guess?”

“Truly, you have the soul of a poet,” the Doctor said drily, taking a seat on the bed.

She stifled a laugh. “Have you got actual grandkids? You’re like, centuries old, right? So you’re definitely old enough.”

“Didn’t you ever wonder about the pictures on my desk?”

“Oh! Yeah, I guess.”

“The blonde one was Dr. River Song, my wife. The dark-haired one was my granddaughter, Susan.”

Bill walked over and sat down next to him. “You had a wife?”

“You thought I had grandchildren, but I never got married?”

“That’s kinda the vibe you have, yeah.”

He chuckled. “Fair enough. Especially since I met River well after Susan was loomed.”

“Loomed?”

“Believe me, you’re better off not knowing.” He paused. “She’d have quite liked you. River, too.”

“So, what, are you welcoming me to the family?”

He shrugged. “As long as you want to call me your grandfather, I’m more than glad to fill the role of wise, responsible parental figure.”

She raised a brow. “Responsible?”

He smirked. “More than Moira, I daresay.”

Now she laughed outright. “Yeah, fair enough.”

They sat in companionable silence for a long minute. “Better finish packing, I guess,” Bill said, rising. “It’s all been pretty quiet, hasn’t it? Haven’t had to use the screwdriver once.”

At that moment, Harry’s scream cut through the air, followed by a loud, high-pitched explosion. Bill froze, horrified. The Doctor rolled his eyes, already running. “You had to say something, didn’t you? Alright then, young whippersnapper, ready to save Harry’s life for the second time in a night?”

Bill pulled out her borrowed screwdriver. “Try and keep up, granddad!”

He turned back to grin at her, and as they ran through the old, carnivorous manor, Bill was filled with the strangest sense that everything would be alright.


End file.
